Broadband News

Half of broadband complaints go unresolved

Friday, 23 July 2010

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

Consumers have become so disillusioned with their broadband provider that nearly a quarter simply can’t be bothered to complain - despite experiencing problems with their service.

A worrying 46% of customers who had lodged a complaint with their broadband provider didn’t feel that they had reached a successful resolution, the latest Broadbandchoices.co.uk survey has revealed.

The news comes as telecoms regulator Ofcom announced plans designed to help consumers deal with poor broadband or home phone services.

Around three million people were left hanging after their broadband or home phone problems went unresolved in 2009, revealed Ofcom yesterday.

From January next year, communications providers will have to include information on dispute resolution services on all paper bills.

They will also have to write to consumers whose complaints have not been resolved within eight weeks and inform them of their right to take their complaint further.

Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “We welcome the new rules on complaint handling from Ofcom - more needs to be done to empower consumers and ensure they have the confidence and know-how to get their complaint resolved.

“In fact, in our survey last year we found that almost 80% of people who complained to their service provider weren’t even aware of the existence of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process which acts as an independent middleman between provider and customer in the case of disputes.

“What is also striking from our most recent survey is the proportion of unhappy customers who simply weren’t bothering to complain. Over a third said that they thought it would be too much hassle, while 34% simply didn’t have faith that their broadband provider could resolve their complaint.”

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